ASSEMBLY, No. 2094
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED JUNE 3, 1996
By Assemblyman ROMA and Assemblywoman ALLEN
An Act concerning Joint Safety and Health Committees and workers' compensation premiums, supplementing chapter 15 of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes and amending R.S.34:15-89.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) For the purposes of this act:
"Committee" means a Joint Safety and Health Committee established pursuant to section 3 of this act.
"Commission" means the Workplace Safety and Health Commission established pursuant to section 2 of this act.
"Employee representative" means an organization engaged in a collective bargaining or collective negotiation relationship with an employer.
"Employer" means employer as defined in R.S. 34:15-36.
"Facility" means all buildings, structures or other stationary items located on a single site or on contiguous or adjacent sites used for the conduct of business and which are owned or operated by the same employer.
2. (New section) a. There is established, in the Department of Labor, the Workplace Safety and Health Commission. The commission shall consist of twelve members as follows: the Commissioner of Insurance, the Commissioner of Health, the Commissioner of Labor and the Commissioner of Personnel or their designees, who shall serve ex-officio and shall be non-voting members; and eight public members who are residents of the State and who have knowledge, competence, experience or interest in connection with occupational safety and health and workplace injuries and illnesses. Of the eight pubic members, four shall be appointed by the Governor from a list or lists of nominees provided by one or more recognized State-wide organizations representing businesses and the other four shall be appointed by the Governor from a list or lists of nominees provided by one or more recognized State-wide organizations representing labor unions.
b. All appointments shall be made within 30 days after the effective date of this act. The appointed members of the commission shall serve for a term ending on December 31, 1999. Vacancies in the membership of the appointed members of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.
c. The members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenditures incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the commission, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the commission for its purposes.
d. The commission shall organize as soon as possible after the appointments are made and shall select a chairperson from among its members. The commission may appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the commission. The commission shall meet at least quarterly and may hold meetings and hearings at such places and times as it designates.
e. The commission shall:
(1) Review employer applications for workers' compensation premium reductions and make recommendations to the compensation rating and inspection bureau regarding the reductions pursuant to section 3 of this act; and
(2) Issue a report to the Governor and the Legislature not later than June 1, 1999 which evaluates and describes the effectiveness of the provisions of this act and of P.L. , c. (C. )(now pending before the Legislature as Assembly Bill, No. 2093 of 1996) in improving workplace safety and health. The report shall make recommendations regarding whether to modify or continue after December 31, 1999 the provisions of this act, recommendations whether to modify the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. )(now pending before the Legislature as Assembly Bill, No.2093 of 1996), and recommendations regarding other possible methods to induce more employers to establish Joint Safety and Health Committees. The report shall include any draft legislation needed to implement recommendations of the report.
f. The commission may hold public hearings and shall have access to all files and records of the Department of Insurance, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health, the Department of Personnel and other relevant State agencies and may call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of those departments and agencies to provide whatever information the board deems necessary in the performance of its functions.
g. Expenses of the commission deemed necessary by the Commissioner of Labor to carry out its responsibilities under the provisions of section 3 of this act, which shall not exceed $150,000 during any fiscal year, shall be regarded as administrative expenses of the Division of Workers' Compensation for the purposes of R.S.34:15-94.
3. (New section) An employer who establishes a Joint Safety and Health Committee may submit an application to the Commissioner of Insurance for a workers' compensation premium reduction pursuant to the provisions of R.S.34:15-89. Upon receipt of the application, the Commissioner of Insurance shall refer the application to the Workplace Safety and Health Commission to determine whether the requirements of this section are being met in connection with the application. If the commission determines that the requirements of this section are met, it shall recommend to the compensation rating and inspection bureau that the employer receive a workers' compensation premium reduction pursuant to the provisions of R.S.34:15-89. The commission shall retain copies of the applications until the commission completes the report it is required to make pursuant to section 2 of this section.
An employer shall receive a workers' compensation premium reduction pursuant to this section for establishing a Joint Safety and Health Committee if the following requirements are met:
a. The employer shall establish a Joint Safety and Health Committee at each facility covered by the workers' compensation policy subject to the premium reduction;
b. Each committee shall have, taking into consideration the size of the facility, a reasonable number of members, which shall in no case be less than four members, to carry out its duties and each committee shall consist of an equal number of employer members and employee members;
c. If employees at the facility are represented by an employee representative, the committee shall be established with the participation and the written consent of both the employer and the employee representative;
d. If employees at the facility are represented by an employee representative, that employee representative shall select the employee members of the committee;
e. If employees at the facility are represented by more than one employee representative, each employee representative shall select a number of employee members to the committee which is in proportion to the number of employees represented by the employee representative at the facility;
f. If no employees at the facility are represented by an employee representative, the employees at the facility shall select the employee members of the committee through a secret ballot election conducted by the employer, not less than once every two years, in which every employee is given the opportunity to vote during normal working hours;
g. The committee shall be required, in a manner consistent with standards set by the Commissioner of Labor in consultation with the commission and the Commissioner of Health, to: hold regular meetings, not less than once each month; keep records; review and make written recommendations regarding safety and health programs at the facility, including accident and illness prevention programs; conduct an inspection of the facility not less than one time each calendar quarter; note hazards and provide written recommendations for the abatement of the hazards; and investigate accidents and exposures at the facility;
h. The employer shall provide a written response to a recommendation made by the committee within a reasonable period of time after the recommendation is received by the employer, which shall not exceed 14 consecutive days after the date of receipt in the case of a recommendation for hazard abatement;
i. Committee members shall be compensated by the employer at their regular wage for time spent performing committee duties; and
j. The committee members shall be provided with training which is designed to enable them to carry out their duties as committee members and which complies with standards set by the Commissioner of Labor in consultation with the commission and the Commissioner of Health. The training for committee members may include occupational safety and health training which complies with those standards and is provided pursuant to the Workforce Development Partnership Program established pursuant to P.L.1992, c.43 (C.34:15D-1 et seq.).
4. R.S.34:15-89 is amended to read as follows:
34:15-89. The compensation rating and inspection bureau as created and established by the act entitled "An act concerning the compulsory insurance of compensation payments arising under section 2 of an act entitled, "An act prescribing the liability of an employer to make compensation for injuries received by an employee in the course of employment, establishing an elective schedule of compensation, and regulating procedure for the determination of liability and compensation thereunder,' approved April 4, 1911," approved March 27, 1917 (L.1917, c.178, p.522), as amended and supplemented is continued under the supervision of the Commissioner [of Banking and] Insurance.
It shall establish and maintain rules, regulations and premium rates for [workmen's] workers' compensation and employer's liability insurance and equitably adjust the same, as far as practicable, to the hazard of individual risks, by inspection by the bureau.
It shall adopt means for assuring uniform and accurate audit of payrolls as they relate to policies of [workmen's] workers' compensation and employer's liability insurance by auditors, appointed by the bureau, with the approval of the [said] commissioner or by such other means as the bureau may, with the approval of the [Commissioner of Banking and Insurance]commissioner, establish.
It shall furnish upon request to any of its members or to any employer upon whose risk a rating has been promulgated by it, information as to such rating, including the method of its computation, and shall encourage employers to reduce the number and severity of accidents by adjusting premiums and rates, through the use of credits and debits or other proper factors, under such uniform system of experience or other form of merit rating as may be approved by the [said] commissioner.
On and after the effective date of P.L. , c. (now pending before the Legislature as this bill) and until December 31, 1999, the compensation rating and inspection bureau shall, upon the recommendation of the Workplace Safety and Health Commission pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), reduce by 10%, for a period of one year, the workers' compensation premiums paid by an employer that establishes one or more Joint Safety and Health Committees. No employer shall receive this premium reduction more than one time.
(cf: P.L.1955, c.108, s.1)
5. (New section) The Commissioner of Labor, in consultation with the Commissioner of Insurance, the Commissioner of Health and the Workplace Safety and Health Commission, shall, pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the provisions of this 1996 amendatory and supplementory act.
6. This act shall take effect on the 180th day following enactment and section 1, 2, 3 and 5 shall expire on December 31, 1999.
STATEMENT
This bill provides a one-year, 10% reduction in workers' compensation premiums for employers that establish Joint Safety and Health Committees which are found to meet the requirements of the bill.
The bill establishes a Workplace Safety and Health Commission to review and determine the eligibility of applications from employers for the premium reduction. The commission is also required to produce a report regarding the impact of the bill and related legislation on participating employers and their employees and making recommendations regarding the modification or continuation beyond December 31, 1999 of the provisions of the bill and regarding other possible methods to induce more employers to establish Joint Safety and Health Committees.
For an employer to receive a workers' compensation premium reduction under the bill, it requires:
1. That the employer establish a Joint Safety and Health Committee at each facility covered by the workers' compensation policy subject to the premium reduction;
2. That each committee have, taking into consideration the size of the facility, a reasonable number of members, but at least four, to carry out its duties and each committee consist of an equal number of employer members and employee members;
3. If employees at the facility are represented by one or more unions, that the committee be established with the participation and the written consent of both the employer and the unions and that the unions select the employee members of the committee;
4. If no employees at the facility are represented by a union, that the employees at the facility select the employee members of the committee through a secret ballot election conducted by the employer;
5. That the committee be required to: hold regular meetings, not less than once each month; keep and make available records; review and make written recommendations regarding safety and health programs; conduct inspections at least once each calendar quarter; note hazards and provide written recommendations for their abatement; and investigate accidents;
6. That the employer provide a written response to a recommendation within a reasonable time; not exceeding 14 days in the case of a recommendation for hazard abatement;
7. That committee members are paid their regular wage when performing committee duties and provided with training to enable them to carry out their duties as committee members.
Concerns Joint Safety and Health Committees and workers' compensation.